SC/ST commission issues notice to UP govt in dalit UDC suicide case

Lucknow, Aug 1 (UNI) Taking suo moto cognisance of the suicide by the Uttar Pradesh assembly dalit employee, the National SC/ST commission airdashed to the state capital this evening and has served notice to the state government to provide five certified documents to the commission by tomorrow morning.

The four members of SC/ST commission headed by former union minister Buta Singh has also met the family members of the Upper Division Clerk (UDC) Subedar Singh, who died on Saturday after consuming poisonous substance in the office on Friday alleging harrassment by the senior colleagues.

The Commission members went straight from the airport to the residence of late Subedar Singh and noted all the details of the episode.

Talking to mediapersons, chairman Buta Singh said a forced suicide could be termed as a murder and commission was investigating into the matter.

He also denied the allegation that the SC/ST commission was targetting the UP government over the dalit atrocities. ''We visited the place after recieving reports of any dalit atrocity and there was no question of targetting any political party or any state government'', he clarified.

Senior state officials were to meet the Commission this evening, but later, the meeting was cancelled as the commission informed the government that they would go for it only after the government submits the five required documents by tomorrow morning.

The five documents sought by the SC/ST commission are an FIR of the case, Annual Confidential report (ACR) of the deceased for the last five years, dying declaration of the deceased, postmortem report and the doctor's certificate of terming the deceased mentally fit to give dying declaration.

The deceased in his dying declaration had charged the former principal secretary of assembly R P Pandey, under secretary Dev Narain Mishra and section officer Madhubala Srivastava of forcing him for the extreme step. Later, the Lucknow police had registered case under the S/ST Act against the three accused and Mr Pandey had resigned from his post on Tuesday last.

Similarly, the family members of the deceased in the FIR had accused the Principal secretary, section officer Madhubala Srivastava and one Dev Narain Singh for abetting Subedar, who was passing through mental tension, for the suicide. They charged the Principal secretary of scolding the deceased after which he consumed poison.

Mr Singh said all the senior state officials, including the chief secretary, DGP, principal secretaries of Home, Assembly and other concerned departments have been asked to be present tomorrow during the hearing by the commission in the case. ''if required the family members of the deceased and the accused persons could also be summoned during the hearing'', the chairman said.

He said during his meeting with the family members of Subedar Singh, they alleged that the officials should be held responsible for the suicide.

The commission took suo moto cognisance of the case on the media reports published in New Delhi today and the members decided to rush to Lucknow this afternoon.

The full Bench of the commission, who rushed to Lucknow are Chairman Buta Singh, vice-chariman prof. N K Kamble and two members Satya Bahen and Mahendra Baudh.

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